Yemeni suicide bomber narrowly misses UK ambassador

SANA’A/LONDON - A mistimed attack by a man believed to be an Al Qaeda suicide bomber narrowly missed the British ambassador to Yemen Monday, according to witnesses.

The attack occurred about two km from the British embassy in the Yemeni capital of Sana’a, on a road leading to the embassy and a five star hotel. The bomber detonated himself after the ambassador went by, killing himself and injuring three bystanders, authorities said.

The British Foreign Office in London said it was urgently looking into reports that Ambassador Tim Torlot had been the target of a suspected attack.

Britain and the US temporarily closed their embassies in Yemen in January over fears of a terrorist attack. Reports reaching London said, while the ambassador was unhurt, one person died in the attack.

Police officers at the scene said the only casualty was the bomber and that the three injured bystanders had been rushed to a nearby hospital and confirmed the man was a suicide bomber, likely from Al Qaeda, and had been targeting the ambassador.

Body parts were being picked up by police officers and put into plastic bags nearly 100 metres from the blast site.